FIGHTER COVER & SBR

[B.AnderssonGameMaster]

FIGHTER COVER
(Strategic Bombing Raid)
The bombers conducting a Strategic Bombing Raid (SBR) may be escorted by fighters as protection. The defending player’s fighters may then intercept the bombers conducting a SBR, if stationed at the target area.

Any fighters intercepting the bombers (defending player) attack first at a die roll of 3 or less. Then fighters escorting the bombers and the bombers return fire as usual, defends on a 4 and 1 respectively. The battle lasts for one round only.

If there is an A/A gun at the target area, it can only fire at the bombers, not the fighter escorts. The escorting fighters are considered to rendevous with the bombers near the target, but they leave before the bombers actually reach the target. The escorting fighters can then land anywhere within their range limitations.

Any fighters and bombers used in a SBR may not also be used in a regular land combat in the same territory on the same turn. If a land battle was won by the attacker then any surviving fighters that were intercepting bombers in a SBR would be considered destroyed on the ground.

NEW COMPLEXES
(Strategic Bombing Raids)
The damage effects from a Strategic Bombing Raid (SBR) at a new Industrial Complex (or captured complexes) is both economic and military.

The cumulative effect for each bomber:

Cumulative Economic Setback MilitarySetback
die rolls of:
1 1 I.P.C. (Surrender) -1 Unit (can’t be built)
2 2 I.P.C.’s (Surrender) -1 Unit(can’t be built)
3 3 I.P.C.’s (Surrender) -2 Units(can’t be built)
4 4 I.P.C.’s (Surrender) -2 Units(can’t be built)
5 5 I.P.C.’s (Surrender) -3 Units(can’t be built)
6 6 I.P.C.’s (Surrender) -3Units(can’t be built)

For more house rules take a look at Nice HouseRules! :D

B. Andersson, Game Master

[dezrtfish]

With your Fighter intercept rules Germany and England will be immune to SBRs. No one will risk a bomber when there are two or three fighters sitting in the target area.

That said I agree that, as the rules are now, if a country like America manages to build 5 or 6 bombers Germany is at their mercy.

This is what we do:

The AA gun works as normal with the exception that you can build more than one in a territory. The additional AA adds one die apiece to the AA roll. Fighters in the territory being bombed act in the same way that additional AA does. Any fighters brought on escort negate defensive fighters on a ratio of 1 to 1.

For example:

Britain takes 2 Bombers from Britain with an escort of two Fighters from an AC in the North sea into Germany which has 2 AA guns and 3 fighters.

The AA roll would be 6 at 1. 4 for the original AA gun, 1 for the additional gun and one for the unopposed fighter. Britain also has the option of loosing fighters for AA casualties.

[B.AnderssonGameMaster]

With your Fighter intercept rules Germany and England will be immune to SBRs. No one will risk a bomber when there are two or three fighters sitting in the target area.

Well, I think you missed one thing about the rule! Fighter cover! The bombers may be protected by fighters that will not be an issue to a defending A/A gun.

What the rule does is that one practically restricts the range of the bombers to 4, due to fighter escorts. But on the other hand it gives the bombers a benefit, since the escorting fighters defend the bomber on a 4 (and 1 for the bombers) where as the intercepting fighters attack on a 3.

Another benefit is that it makes it possible for one to affect the problem with enemies who posses Heavy Bomber technology. But the problem with HB is still big, since fighters still cost 12 I.P.C.'s! This makes fighters even more desirable!

Another thing is that Germany may benefit this rule most since possesion of Western Europe or FinlandNorway gives them an oppertunity of fighter escort when performing a SBR on England! UK on the other hand need to take FinlandNorway (or Western Europe) or Libya to actually make it possible to perform a SBR on Germany or Southern Europe. UK also have Karelia as an option, but this option could be risky if the Germans are close. This brings more realism to the Game as well as strategy. :wink:

B. Andersson, Game Master

[dezrtfish]

The problem is, if you need escorts you stand a good chance of loosing one or more of them.

So, you take a bad odds chance of loosing 12 IPCs worth of equipment for an average of 3IPCs loss to your enemy.

[B.AnderssonGameMaster]

@dezrtfish:

The problem is, if you need escorts you stand a good chance of loosing one or more of them.

So, you take a bad odds chance of loosing 12 IPCs worth of equipment for an average of 3IPCs loss to your enemy.

Oh, I see! You think it is a problem to stand a good chance of loosing an escorting fighter, hmmm…… Maybe you have not red the article after all! :( You have probably forgot that any intercepting fighters attack the fighter escort on a 3, but the escorting fighters defend on a 4 (and a 1 for the bombers)! The dog fight last for one round only, but you are right about that one stand a good chance of loosing one or more of the fighter escorts if there are any potential intercepting fighters in the target area!

Now a little twist, the one who owns the intercepting fighters stand a even bigger chance of loosing one or more of his fighters, since they only attack on a 3 compared to the escorting fighters 4!!!

Well, enough about that! By using this rule one makes fighters even more desireable, since they now are vital for each player to fend off any SBR! The rule also more or less forces the attacker to use fighters to escort the bombers, fighters that could be useful for other missions! This brings even more strategy into the game and realism as well!

If one want to know for sure that there wont be any intercepting fighters one use a superior combat force (a stock pile of fighters), then the enemy probably wont choose to intercept the escort with his fighters!

I suggest that you should take a look at the ‘Tactics’ article I just wrote! :wink:

B. Andersson, Game Master

[B.AnderssonGameMaster]

@dezrtfish:

So, you take a bad odds chance of loosing 12 IPCs worth of equipment for an average of 3IPCs loss to your enemy.

1/61 + 1/62 + 1/63 + 1/64 + 1/65 + 1/66 = 3.5

About the odds! If one uses one fighter to escort the bomber and the enemy has one fighter in the target area, then one has the odds of loosing units to a cost of 8.5 I.P.C.'s (3/6 * 12 + 1/6 * 15). On the other hand the enemy has the odds of loosing 11.5 I.P.C.'s (4/6 * 12 + 3.5)!!! The question is if the enemy chooses to use his fighter to intercept the escort??

If one chooses to perform a SBR whithout fighter cover, then one has the odds of loosing units to a cost of 10 I.P.C.'s (3/6 * 15 + 1/6 * 15), where as the enemy has the odds of loosing 5.5 I.P.C.'s (1/6 * 12 + 3.5)!!! :wink:

What we have learned here is that this rule pracrtically reduceses the bombers range to 4! But there is another thing that is very interesting with this rule, and that is when one player has developed Heavy Bombers. Then it’s worth building a stock pile of fighters in all IC territories, except new or captured ones (se rules for ‘New Complexes’)!

B.Andersson, Game Master